Bower B,
Dormer A., A novel In silico peptide vaccine design for Streptococcus mutans, Onl J Bioinform15(1):1-34, 2014. Several attempts have been made towards the
development of a viable vaccine for Streptococcus
mutans(S. Mutans). This Gram positive bacterium is found within
the oral cavity of humans and is a main inducer of dental caries.The objective of this study is to identify
potential peptide vaccine candidates targeted to treat a primary cause of
dental caries. The hypothesis is that through the use of In silico tools, T-cell restricted epitopes targeted to S. Mutans can
be recognized as potentials for therapeutic development. The novel approach adapted for this
study includes the use of predicted algorithms, QSAR, and protein fold level
simulation analysis in order to identify B-cell and T-cell peptide vaccine
candidates from S. Mutans
glucosyltransferase D (GtfD) protein structure: a key
enzymedental caries pathogenesis.One B-cell (EDDKAASESSQTDAPKTKQA) (20-mer)
and five B-cell epitope originated T-cell restricted epitopes to MHC Class I
HLA-A*0201 (GQDMKITYV)(9-mer), -A*0204 (QIDGKYYYI)(9-mer), -B*2705
(KRYFDDGSG)(9-mer), and MHC Class II HLA-DRB1*0101 (NNWYYFGSDGVAVTG)(15-mer),
and -DRB1*0401 (KIETKISQTQQTQWL)(15-mer) were identified. The MHC Class I and
Class II restricted peptides predicted in this study would stimulate
T-cytotoxic (CD8+) and T-helper (CD4+) lymphocytes, respectively. This design
could be used to stimulate CD8+, CD4+, and B-cells, all aspects of the adaptive
immune system. Therefore, these restricted epitopes are designed to induce both
a humoral and cellular immunological responses for use in a multi-valent
vaccine. As with all epitopes selected by In silico tools In Vitro and In Vivo experimental verification will
be the next step.